The Fire on the Altar Must Be Kept Burning–It Must Not Go Out

The other night I was privileged to be invited by my good friend Pastor Alaba Obiri of the Foursquare Church in Alief to attend the monthly meeting of Greater Houston Ministers Fellowship.  This group is composed largely of Ministers in Nigerian Pentecostal congregations throughout Houston.  There are over 50 of these congregations in Harris County.  Since I had never been to a Pentecostal service, much less a Nigerian Pentecostal congregation, I had no idea what to expect.  My purpose in going was to introduce pastors to TMO and invite them to a meeting on June 21 to discuss common concerns and see whether the group would be interested in working with and becoming a part of TMO.   One of the pastors offered a sermon based upon Leviticus 6: 12-13  which states “The Fire on the Altar Must Be Kept Burning–It Must Not Go Out; The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.”  Even though I have been involved in the church most of my life, I cannot ever remember hearing a sermon based on this scripture.  It didn’t seem like it made much sense.  Most sermons I hear have a context for me to relate, but it didn’t seem like there was that kind of context.  As I drove home and reflected on the sermon, it struck me that the sermon was addressed to the pastors who live in an alien world far from their native home and who are called by God to keep the fire burning in their congregations.  That was the context.  To me, that would be an awesome and frightening experience.  And even though the context of my experience may be different, I share in the experience and understanding that we as creations of sacred worth, must acknowledge the supremacy of the creator God and keep the fire on the altar burning.  As Christians, we also accept that Christ was the supreme sacrifice and that through his sacrifice He makes us whole.  We may have differing views of sacrifice but most of us would agree that sacrifice is an act of worship, thanksgiving and praise.  Praise and thanksgiving was definitely in the sanctuary that night.  And when we accept Christ’s life, death, and resurrection we are called to “keep the fire burning”.   Possibly one reason the context of the sermon was not readily apparent to me was that today in western culture our tendency is to see ourselves as being entitled more than focused on sacrifice or worship and thanksgiving.  Acknowledgement of God’s supremacy and the importance of Jesus sacrifice has lost much of its meaning and impact.  For many, this affluence or the expectation of affluence, directs us from what the scripture is saying and we neither see the need for keeping the fire of God’s presence burning or the need for worshiping God, or giving  thanksgiving or praise.  This is the issue that Israel has had to deal with throughout its history and one that even we mainline churches, living in our secular culture have to face.   How do you maintain faith in the presence of the dominant culture that does not see the need for either recognition of God’s presence or for a sense of sacrifice?   For me, it was a good evening and it made me realize how important it is to practice our faith in different ways that express our traditions and cultural contexts.   But it also pointed out that if we want to live together in this world, we must keep the fire burning on the altar acknowledging the power of creator God.